Sweet love and a bitter taste
by Turtler-Pomf
Summary: Ivan was tired of the everyday norm of school, so what happens when a new girl comes to his school and joins his group of friends? A tale of the struggle that school life can be and how these 6 friends deal with it all. RussiaxOC, PruHun. Rated T. No yaoi ships Please give it a try
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of the characters (except my OC).

AN: I know many don't like OC's for a lot of reasons, but please give this a go. And I use the countries actual names in this fanfic, so they are like actual, everyday people in school.

Chapter one: The new girl.

(Ivan :Russia's: P.O.V)

"Ivan, it's time to get up, sweetie." A sweet voice called out. My eyes peeled open as I threw my hand over my face, rubbing it slightly as the sunshine shon in, burning my eyes a little. My eyes finally adjusted to the light, scanning the room to see my older sister standing by the window as she had finished drawing the curtins, letting all the light in.

"Come on, sleepy head. You don't want to late for your first day back at school after the holidays." She smiled, walking over.

"mmm..." I mumbled, feeling the warm blanket snuggling my body, wrapping it up in a cosy cage that I couldn't seem to break out of. What did it matter if I missed one day? I wouldn't miss anything, I never did. My school life is uneventful, boring if anything.

"Ivan!" My sister called out again, sounding a little more stern this time. Before I knew it, she ripped the warm paradise from my body, letting the cold air hit my skin and wake me up more.

"Katyusha, why would you do that?" I cried, curling up into a ball to keep all the warmth I could.

"Ivan, you've got school. Don't make me tell you again." She scowled before walking out, leaving me alone to adjust to the cold.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. Really, another whole season has gone by and it was the new start back at school. Pretty soon people would be getting ready for the spring fesitval, which is always really great. But, there's always one problem: I never have anyone special to spend it with. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my friends company- they're great friends. But I know it won't always be like that. Surely they'll find someone special and leave me behind. That's how I see it anyway. I'll always be that friend that's alone, that can't seem to find the one.

Somehow, I managed to pull myself up to my feet, making my way over to my uniform that hung from my wardrobe neatly. I stared at it for a moment, not wanting to put it on. But I had to. But I had other same old morning routines to do first.

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, seeing Natalia, my younger sister getting herself a glass of orange juice.

"Goodmorning, Natalia." I mumbled. She spun on her heels, her hair following her motions in a gentle swish.

"Ivan?" She spun on her heels, her hair swifly following her motion with ease. "You never usually talk to me in the morning."

"It's your first day at Hetalia. I thought the least I could do was see you off." For some reason, that comment made Natalia blush a little and she spun again, coldly turning her back to me.

"Thank you, but I'll do just fine." And with that, she scurried away. It was a little unusual, but she always acted like that with me. I never really thought much of it, but I guess maybe all little sisters are like that.

heading to the fridge, I pulled out a juice can and quickly drank it down, feeling the refreshing liquid cool down my mouth. I woke up quite chilly, but now the heat was getting to me a little, already making it hot indoors. The juice was just what I needed,

I made my way into the bathroom and had a wash, splashing the cool water on my face after brushing my teeth, making sure I was fresh faced before heading to my room, looking at my uniform again. I let out a sigh as I pulled it out, getting into a fresh pair of boxers, socks and a vest. The I slid my white shirt over my arms and buttoned it up.

"At least we get the summer uniforms now" I sighed, doing my tie up and neatly placing it correctly. And as usual, I put on my school trousers and then my dark blue school blazer. It was hot out, and the summer uniform didn't request we HAD to wear it, but I felt more comfortable in it. Most of the guys in my class wore theirs too, mainly because our class had imense cooling fans that made the room quite cold.

When I was dressed, I looked in the long mirror on my wardrobe door for a minute, checking everything was in place when my own cold, pale eyes met my own in the mirror, staring back at me with the same noncholent stare. My simple, silver hair that rustled slightly as the wind blew in through the window, my rather big nose that was my signature feature. I was quite tall, too, wasn't I? All these things I was looking at was all me, the shell I live in. Was I really so avoidable?

I let out a long sigh, turning away and grabbing my grey scarf and bookbag, heading downstairs again and to the front door. I slipped on my shoes and wrapped my scarf around my neck.

"I'm going." I called out. Just then, Katyusha walked out with a smile.

"Walk safely, Ivan." She smiled before a small frown plastered her face. "You're wearing that scarf in this heat? Ivan, you'll die of heat."

"I'm fine, I like my scarf." I replied, opening the door.

"Alright, well see you later, little brother." She smiled. And with that, I nodded and headed out. The heat was a lot more immense out here than inside. As soon as I stepped out, the heat hit my body fast, but I didn't mind. Instead, I walked and paid it no mind.

My path to school was pretty dead with the odd person walking along it every now and then, or a few cars. It was a nice stroll. The path was shaded by several early bloomed cherry blossoms and several other pretty trees. And the shade was much needed and appreciated.

Eventually the people came more in numbers as I approached the school gates, the towering building that stared at me with it's demanding grades and disapointment. I strolled in, just wanting to get into my cool, cold classroom.

As usual, there was a smartly dressed teacher at the gate, telling all the students to neaten up their uniform, sort out their ties or to remove a peice of clothing that wasn't part of uniform.

"Mr. Braginski, I do believe that scarf is not school uniform..or even fit for this weather..." He said, raisign an eyebrow slightly. Was he seriously still getting surprised by this? I wore my scarf everyday, no matter what the weather was.

"No sir, but I like wearing it." I replied. He noded his head slowly, knowing there was no point in protesting with me. We had already gone down that road, and he was well aware I wasn't one to simply bend over backwards for such idle rules.

"Alright then, hurry it along. Just take it off when you get to class." He said, nodding his head and sending me on my way. Of course, I never listened to him.

I stepped inside the cool building, feeling a million cold kisses of air on my face and hands. I tugged at my scarf a little, letting some of the cool air make it's way down my neck and cool me down more. It felt so good that I just stoof there for a minute, letting all the air in with my eyes shut gently and a smile on my face.

"Ivan?" I looked around, seeing a girl with long, brown hair smiling at me. "What are you doing wearing that scarf in this heat?" She giggles, already knowing what I'd say. It was my good friend, Elizabeta. Her and I have been friends for many years. I can remember when I was all on my own during middle school. I had no friends and Elizabeta was the first person to talk to me in a long time, other than my sister's, of course. She introduced me to her friends, Gilbert, Arthur and Kiku and we all became good friends, all the way up until now.

"Come on, let's get to class. It's so much cooler in there." She smiled and we both walked down the hall together, making our way to our class.

"So how was break, Ivan?"

"It was nice. And you, Liza?" I smiled, still gently holding my scarf away from my neck.

"Oh, yeah, it was great. I'm just happy the cold weather is going away." She stretched her arms over her head, revealing her belly-botton as her school top lifted up slightly.

"Yes, me too. Although people have more reason to question m scarf again."

"Yeah, it is a little strange how you can deal with the heat and wear a thick scarf." She teased.

"I suppose it's something I can just do." I smiled as we arrived at our class. Liza slid the door open, heading in. I followed behind, letting out a large sigh as the cooler air hit me. It was so good.

"Now this is better." Liza's arms were spread out and her head tilted backwards. "Ahhhh."

"Aren't we lucky bastards?" Another boy called out from his seat. I looked to see a red eyed boy with white hair grinning like some idiot, as usual. That was Gilbert, the clown of our small group of friends.

"Watch your language, Gil." Liza scowled, sitting in her seat. I followed and made my way to my seat at the back of the class, right next to the window too. It was good because I got a nice view and some nice sunshine, but not too much that it ruined the cool air in the room. Liza sat in front of me, spinning around in her chair to face Gilbert and I, who sat beside me. In front of Gilbert was Arthur, who was quietly reading a book. He was into those and often got lost in thought. He had messy, blond hair and large eyebrows. People used to make fun of him for it, but after Liza and Gilbert had their say with it, no one ever picked on him again. Apparently I'm quite scary too, so people didn't want to get on my bad side.

"Where's Kiku?" Liza asked, looking around. Kiku was another friend of ours and he sat in front of Liza. He had black hair that neatly framed his face with cold, emotionless eyes. He was a quite boy, very nice and often liked to sit back and observe, sensing the mood, I guess.

"Who knows. Maybe he's off procastinating somewhere." Gilbert shrugged.

"He's in the auditorium." Arthur spoke up, placing his book down and turning back. "He said he had somethings he needed to check on."

"Like what?" Gilbert asked.

"I don't bloody know. It's Kiku, so it's probably something to do with philosophy." Arthur said, picking his book back up and placing a bookmark in it, placing it in his bag.

"He'll be in on time. Kiku is never later." I said, smiling to reassure them. They all often worried about Kiku, mainly because he was always off in his own world or too quite. They saw it as shyness or lack of caring. However, I could see that Kiku was very down to earth, which they knew too, everyone did. But they mistook the fact that he's the silent type, the time to observe. He's more 'down to earth' than people realize.

"Speak of the devil." Arthur spoke up, all our eyes heading for the door as it opened and Kiku came walking in.

"Hai, I am here." He said softly, sitting in his seat and placing his bag under his table.

"Well now that that's sorted...Ivan, please take off that goddamn scarf. It's making me hot just seeing you wearing it." Gilbert moaned, leaning away from me and fanning himself.

"Yes, I'm worried you might end up fainting from heat." Arthur sighed.

"Do it for us at least?" And with them all looking at me and Liza's caring plead, I simply nodded, removing the scarf and sticking it into my bad.

"There, now you don't have to worry." I said. They all smiled at me, except Kiku. He was sat facing the front the whole time.

"So who's excited for the spring festival this month? Liza asked, lifting her arms high above her head.

"I know I am!" Gilbert followed Liza's actions, except he jumped up a little getting overly excited.

"It'll be good this year too now that the shrine has been repaired." Everyone nodded, agreeing with Arthur.

Yeah, it's be a lot safer too. I can't believe we couldn't have it there last year." Liza almost sounded shocked, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow.

Kiku turned around to face us, holding a calm face.

"Lets all do our best to have fun this year. All of us together." And with that, everyone nodded, including myself.

"YEAH!" we all called in union.

Just then, we heard the bell ring and everyone made their way to their classes. When all our other classmates entered the roon, they let our large sighs as the cool air greeted them, cooling their red faces down.

We were all sat there for a few minutes, the class room loud with morning chatter. It took a while before our teacher, Mrs. Jones walked in followed by another girl who was tucked behind her, leaving us without a clear view. Mrs. Jones cleared her throat, getting all our attention.

"Good morning everyone and welcome back for another school term. I hope you all had a lovely break." She smiled. " Now, we have a new student joining us today, so please, make her feel welcome and be kind to her." She moved a side, gesturing to the young girl stood beside her. She had pink, braided hair that fell over her left shoulder and big, brown eyes and nervously looked around the room, but avoiding direct eye contact with anyone. She held her bookbag close and had a smile, embarressed smile plastered on her face. For some reason, I couldn't look away. I was completely glued to her face, taking in all her features.

"H-hello. I'm Zoe Ferron. I hope to get along with you all and that I don't cause any trouble for you. Please, take good care of me." She bowed her head, keeping it down for a moment before bringing it back up with a small smile.

"Thank you, Zoe. You can take the seat third from the back on the second row, in from of Mr. Kirkland." The girl looked for the seat and then nodded, heading towards it. As she walked to her seat, our eyes met, clashing in a split second before they were quickly averted again.

After she had taken her seat and Mrs. Jones got on with the lesson, I noticed my cheeks had heated up a little and my heart was racing in my chest. What was that? was I having some bad effects from the heat? It never happened before, not unless I was running or something.

I shook it off, thinking nothing of it and tried to focus on the lesson, but I found myself taking glances at the new girl, looking at her and staring for a few minutes before quickly averting my eyes again.

Lucky class was finally over and I could get some fresh air, maybe clear my head and get some water. But before I could go anywhere, Mrs. Jones wanted to say something.

"Before you go, I want someone to volunteer in showing Zoe around and maybe being her friend." I looked at the girl to see her nervously staring at her desk. She must have felt like a burden or something being in her situation. I was considering raising my hand, but before anyone had a chance to do anything, Liza was out of her seat, throwing her hands in the air.

"Me, I'll do it!" She called. Mrs. Jones was even startled by Liza's sudden jump of energy.

"Alright, thank you, Liza." Mrs. Jones said, pushing up her glasses a little. "Everyone, you are dismissed, except Liza and Zoe. I need to explain some things quickly." Everyone got up out of their seats and made their way out of class.

Gilbert, Arthur, Kiku and I all headed for our usual spot: a bench located under a large tree that gave us the perfect, cool shade and grassy floor. It was perfect for this weather, and always filled me with that perfect summer nostalgia. I was really going to miss it when I finished school.

"So does that mean the new girl is going to join our awesome group?" Gilbert grinned.

"Probably. It's nice to see a new face." Arthur smiled, looking up from his book.

"Yes, I think she looks like a nice girl." Kiku nodded his head, still with his calm face and composure.

"What do you think, Ivan?" I looked at them, slightly unsure of how to answer Arthur's question. What did I think? I had a mix of emotions that I wasn't sure of when I thought of her.

"I think...she'll make a nice addition to the group." I replied, hiding my smile behind the scarf that was wrapped around my neck again.

Before long, Liza came walking over with the new girl, smiling and gesturing to us.

"And these are my friends." She stopped, pointing to us individually. "Arthur, Kiku, Gilbert and Ivan." She looked back at the girl and smiled some more.

"Hello there. I'm Arthur." Arthur smiled, leaning forward in his seat with his arms resting on his legs, holding his book limply in his hand.

"I'm Kiku. It's nice to meet you, Zoe-san."

"I'm the awesome Gilbert. I'd say it's an honor to meet you, but it's obviously the other way around." And with that cocky grin on his face, Liza elbowed him hard in the stomach, making a large cracking sound and knocking that smug grin right off his face as he slowly fell to the floor. Liza giggled and waved it off.

"Don't mind him, he's always like that. And he'll be fine, he's used to getting beat up by girls." Liza teased, sticking out a tongue. The girl giggled lightly, blushing a little from the heat and the extra energy.

"It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for taking so kinly to me." She bowed her head again, coming back up with a big smile. I felt my cheeks heat up again and my heart started beating fast again, eyes wide at her smile. It took me by surprise, I never thought I'd be thrown off like that. But why was my body responding in such a strange way?

"Don't mention it, love. It's always a pleasure to meet new people." Arthur smiled, standing up and shaking her hand. Her cheeks went a little redder, clearly a little taken back by Arthur's typical gentleman manners.

"Thank you." She giggled. Liza took her hand and led her over to an open space on the bench and they both sat down opposite Arther and Kiku, who spun around on their seats to face them. I was sat next to Liza, and Kiku was next to Zoe, who was busy answering all the questions they were all throwing at her. Eventually, Gilbert was able to drag himself up to his feet and sit beside me and Arthur, joining in on the conversation.

"So where are you originally from, Zoe?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, I've lived in the UK all my life, but recently moved here due to family business. Plus, I love the culture in Japan and have been studying the language for some times now. I'm really glad to be here." She replied with such a light, yet noticable dedication to her voice.

"Interesting. I'm also from the UK. I moved here at a young age though, same reasons." Arthur commented, resting his chin on his hand, indulging in the conversation even more.

"My family owns the local shrine here, Zoe-san. Feel free to visit any time you want to study the cultures." Kiku bowed his head.

"Oh, thank you, Kiku-san."

"Oh, and you're just in time for the spring festival this year." Liza smiled, gleams in her eyes as she laced her fingers together and held her hands close to her chest. "It'll be so great with someone new to come with us."

"I've always wanted to be in Japan for the changing of the seasons festival, especially spring." Zoe smiled.

"Oh, it's amazing. It's the best one of the year." Arthur nodded. "In fact, we get a lot of tourist that visit this tim of year."

"Yeah, but wait until you see the cherry blossoms bloom. It's super awesome." Gilbert was practically exploding wiht excitment.

"The fireworks show at night is always really beautifully displayed too. And at the shrine, it's a great view with the best atmosphere." I managed to speak up. Our eyes clashed again, this time with something else. Her eyes were kind and warm, expressing the smile on her face as she took in what I said.

"Ah, it's going to be so amazing!" Liza smiled, hugging Zoe slightly. My eyes averted from her completely, looking directly at the table and smiling slightly, feeling the heat in my cheeks and the thump in my chest. Maybe the sun really was just making me feel weird today and my friends were right- wearing that scarf was no good for me, not in this heat.

First chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it and continue to read and review with love. Please give some constructive feeback too if you can- I always like to know how I can improve. Uhm, I also want to point out that this fanfiction is slightly based off the song 'only exception' by paramore. Anyways, thank you and I hope the use of my OC is ok.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Long walks and a steady beat.

The bell rang, signalling for us all to get back to class. Arthur let out a big sigh, standing up and rubbing his wrist against his forehead.

"Well, time to get back to that heaven of a classroom and out of this heat." He chuckled. Everyone nodded in agreement, groaning as we all stepped out of the cool shade the tree provided and out into the blazing heat.

"Man, when is the sun going to let up?" Liza sighed, looking up with her hand gently placed over her eyes to see passed the sun a little.

"It's only spring. Just wait until summer- it'll be wicked cool" Prussia laughed.

"Cool isn't the correct term at all." Arthur joined in, chuckling lightly.

"Maybe we could go to the beach?" Zoe's small voice called out, smiling a little.

"Oooh, good idea, new girl!" Prussia said, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "You obviously have my awesome ideas and brains" He chuckled, laughing more like an idiot and causing Liza to pinch his ear tightly.

"Stop being such a deluded idiot!" Liza scowled as she let go of his ear. Gilbert sobbed a little as he rubbed his ear, pouting at Liza who was just ignoring him.

"Well anyway, I think it's a good idea." Arthur smiled, nodding his head and patting Zoe on the shoulder.

"Yes, but when shall we go?" Kiku commented.

"How about we go for a whole weekened?" Liza asked, looking around at everyone. My heart started beating in my chest like a caged animal again at the thouht. A whole weekened with her? Why did it drive my heart to such a fast pace and make my mind swirl in thought? I couldn't breath almost.

"Isn't the school shut for a whole week for the summer ball festival this year?" Arthur asked.

"Oh yeah, you're right." Liza practically facepalmed. "We could go during then. We'll have a whole week and it's right in the middle of summer."

"Why don't we go for the whole week then?" Gilbert asked, finally finished with sulking about his ear.

"I could book us a dorm to rent for the week." Kiku said. I saw their faces light up in excitment.

"Perfect!" Liza jumped up, clasping her hands together. "It'll be so much fun!"

"Yes, but we still have the spring festival to look forward to before this." Arthur reminded us all.

"Oh yeah! that'll be awesom too." Gilbert grinned.

"Yeah. Oh, Zoe, you'll love it. We all usually sit at this amazing secret place at the shrin that only Kiku's family know's about, because they own the shrine. It's an amazing view for the fireworks." Liza said, getting excited all over again.

"Wow, this all sounds so amazing." Zoe smiled. "I've never had to plan so far ahead in the year either." She giggled, and that immediately sent my stomach flying with these insane feelings. Like someone let out a box of butterflies in there.

"Well get used to it, girl!" Gilbert smirked. "We're always doing stuff like this." Liza nodded in agreement with Gilbert, making Zoe laugh a little as we headed inside the building, making our way down the busy hallway and to our classroom.

We had to walk in single file down the hallway, so we couldn't talk to each other. Instead we pushed through all the other busy students, all hot and bothered from the heat. They didn't get cool classrooms like us, I almost felt sorry for them.

As we pushed through, Zoe ended up walking just in front of me, the closest she's ever been to me and I felt my heart beating again. I walked nervously behind her, feeling a strange urge take over my body. It was like I wanted to grab her and wrap my arms around her in a tight hug. Surely that's normal though, right? I liked hugs, and I hug my friends sometimes too. But why was it this uncontrolable urge? I shook it off, making sure to keep my arms at my side at all times.

As we got closer to the classroom, there was a struggle as two students pushed out, falling into Zoe and pushing her up against the window and crushing her a little. The two boys literally balldozed into her and didn't even care. The first boy pressed up against her pushed the other one off of him, laughing and standing back up, not turning to see how Zoe was or even showing any sign of care at all. I felt this ball of rage well up inside me and my body moved on it's own, grabbing the first boy by his collar, pulling him close and glaring at him with a murderous fury in my face.

"You just hurt a poor girl and you didn't say sorry!" I scowled, seeing the sudden shock and fear in his face. "Don't you even have any consideration for anyone other than yourself?" I asked, still holding my furious glare.

"Y-you're right, Ivan. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." I felt more anger boil up.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to!" I said, looking at Zoe and getting him to look at her. He nodded his head a few times, shaking his blond hair in his messy ponytail as he did so. I let him go, watching him with a stern glare as he approached her, bowing low.

"I'm terribly sorry for that. I hope you didn't get badly hurt and that you can forgive me." He said, finally looking back up. Zoe simply blushed a little, feeling embarressed. Everyone in the hallway was staring at us, completely silent.

"I-it's alright. I'm fine." She said, bowing her head a little. The blonde boy quickly bowed again before grabbing his friend and run off. Everyone else took that as their signal to carry on with their day and went along as if nothing happened. Zoe look at me and smiled, her soft, gentle smile calming down the fury I felt inside. Why was that?

"Thank you, Ivan. It was alright though, you didn't have to do that." She said. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for me." I felt another spark inside and found myself smiling.

"No, it's alright. They won't tell on me, no one ever does. I'm quite a scary character to most at this school, so people don't do anything to get on my bad side." I said, chuckling nervously.

"Alright. But I don't think you look scary at all." She giggled. I was a little shocked-someone didn't find me scary at all, and that person was the person I felt so weird towards, the person that made me want to do things I've never wanted to do to others. She made my body react to things before my mind could even react, and that scared me. Why did I feel so angry? Of course I'd get mad if someone did that to Liza or Kiku or any of my friends, but for some reason, my body reacted and I couldn't control my anger. Was that...normal?

Liza came running over, realizing we weren't with them and called to us.

"Hey, you two! What's the hold up, come on!" Zoe waved back to her,apologizing.

"Sorry, we got caught up in the crowd." And with that we both headed off with Liza to the cool classroom.

As I stepped in, I felt the cool air hit my face and cool me once again. It was so good, especially after all that. Getting angry like that ads some heat, so it was nice to finally get some cool air. Wait, maybe that was it! Maybe the intense heat is making me act so weirdly? I mean, it's the first hot day since winter, and I'm wearing this scarf. Surely that's it.

I sat at my desk, letting all the cool air fill my lungs and cool me all over as I pulled off my scarf. I even opened the window to let in some extra spring breeze. It was honestly the best thing. The cool air blowing in from outside, rustling my hair in small movements and making it's way through the room, gently passing through everyone.

Gilbert was leaning back in his chair, arms falling behind the seat as his head was tilted back, breathing heavily as the cool air cooled him down too. I could see the small sweat droplets on his forehead as his hair rustled gently. Elizabeta was leaning forward in her seat, talking to Zoe. No surprise- Liza always handeled the heat well. She had pulled her long, brown hair up into a ponytail to help cool her down. Zoe also looked pretty content, her light pink hair falling over her shoulder in a neat braid as the extra strands blew gently in the wind.

Arthur was fanning himself with his book, but Kiku was quick to tell him off for it.

"Fanning yourself won't cool you down any faster. It creates energy, which only heats you up. It's best to just let yourself cool down naturally." And with that, Arthur let out a groan and put him book back on his desk. "Try taking off your bazer jacket." Kiku was always good like that.

"What? And risk looking like that idiot? Not a chance." Arthur said, pointing back to Gilbert, who was still leaning back in his chair. He never wore his blazer jacket, even in the winter. He would just wear a red jacket or something if he got cold. He didn't even do his tie up properly- it just lazily hung there like a sloppy mess. Liza often told him off for it, but after several attempts, she gave up.

"It's either that, or you take longer to cool down." Kiku said noncholantly. Kiku dealt with heat well too. I suppose he was very spiritual and maybe that had something to do with it.

"Ugh, fine." Arthur let out a grunt as he pulled his blazor off, placing it in his bag under tha desk. He let out a long, relieved sigh as the cool air hit his body through his thin, white school shirt.

"I told you." Kiku said, giving a small smile. Arthur nodded a few times, too lost in the cool air that was enveloping his body.

Just then, came in, looking a little warm herself. She was holding a fan and placed it on her desk, turning it on and letting more cool air into the room.

"Alright, class. Let's just have a moment to cool down and then we'll get to work" She sat, falling back into her chair and tugging on her white shirt that was neatly tucked into her long, sleek skirt that hugged her body and showed all her womanly curves. She was actually very popular with a lot of the male teachers here, even students too. She didn't appeal to me though, no one ever did.

My heart thumped for a moment. No one but her. I looked over at Zoe, who was sitting around in her seat to talk to Liza, who was chatting away. Zoe had a smile on her face, listening and laughing to Liza's stories. I felt another wave of butterflies before looking away and looking out the window.

"It's so hot today!" Gilbert finally blurted out, sitting up in his chair and frowning. and our other classmates all looked up at Gilbert, laughing a little. Not just the clown of the group, but that class too. Even I felt myself cracking up.

"Yes, even Ivan's removed his scarf, it's that hot." Mrs. Jones said, laughing a little more as she nodded to me. My head popped up a little as everyone looked at me, laughing a little more. I looked around and saw Zoe looking at me, smiling as she laughed away. And again my cheeks flushed red and I couldn't help but give this nervous smile and look away.

"It's alright, Ivan." Liza said, reaching over and patting my shoulder. "At least we can confirm you have normal heat sensors in your body." She smiled. I nodded my head a little, smiling more as the class died down the laughter. I liked my class very much. Everyone was kind to everyone, and we always had a good laugh. Even if we were laughing at someone specifically, we wouldn't be laughing at them in a mean way, but in a way they would find it funny too- just like now.

"Alright then, class." stood up, picking up her board pen and writing down some stuff, along with page numbers. "Turn to these pages in your text books and do the following activities written on the board." She sat back in her seat. "I think we'll just have a laid back day today. No one can concentrate in this heat."

"Ahh, thank you, Mrs!" Gilbert called out, trowing his arms in the air before grabbing his text book and flipping to some pages.

"It seems to be everything we learned last term" Kiku noted.

"Yes, well, chill evening then." Mrs. Jones nodded, opening another window and sitting back in her chair. "Just don't chatter too loudly or we'll get a complaint."

The class began to work, quietly chatting to one another, sitting around in their seats and just enjoying the cool air and banter.

"So, Ivan." Gilbert turned to me. "You wanna walk home with us lot today?" I thought for a moment. That's right, we always walked home together.

"Of course." I smiled.

"Oh, cool." Liza smiled, turning around. "we'll take the shaded route then." I nodded my head. That was the route I walked every morning, so I was fine with it.

"Would you mind waiting for me then? I have to take something in to the office first before we leave." Arthur said, looking over from his seat in front of Gilbert.

"Yeah, sure. Just don't be too long, ok?" Liza replied.

"Zoe-san, would you like to join us?" Kiku looked at Zoe, who's desk was next to his. She looked at him and smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to."

"Great!" Liza smiled, clapping her hands. Just then, Mrs. Jones walked over, smiling as she leaned against Kiku's desk and looked at Zoe.

"I see you've settled in nicely." She said warmly.

"Yes, Mrs." Zoe bowed her head, smiling.

"That's good to hear. You're lucky you got put into such a nice class." She chuckled, shaking her head a little. "Anyway, you lot make sure to take good care of her." We all nodded our hands and Mrs. Jones walked back to her desk, looking around the room a little.

"Ugh, I'm so excited for the summer ball festival now!" Liza sighed, resting her head on her desk.

"Uhm, what is the summer ball festival?" Zoe asked, tilting her head a little. I wanted to answer, but for some reason, my voice wouldn't work and Arthur stole my chance.

"Well, every summer there is a festival dedicated to the older audiance. It's like a big ball of some sorts, but most of us younger people in the city never go."

"Yeah, and the schools take it in turns every year of where it's held. This year is our school, so we get a whole week off." Liza added, lifting her head up from the desk and sitting up again.

"I see. And the spring festival, when is that?" Zoe asked.

"Oh, that's in 2 weeks, on a Saturday." I spoke up. She looked at me and smiled, nodding her head in thanks.

"Alright, well it should be fun." She replied.

"Of course it will be fun!" Gilbert leaned forward, over his desk and was resting his head on Arthur's shoulder, making Arthur try and shake him off, but Gilbert just sat there, grinning at Zoe the whole time knowing Arthur couldn't shift him.

"Get off me you idiot!" Arthur shouted, pushing his more. Liza rolled up her non-existant sleeves and went to stand up, but before she could do anything, Arthur managed to push his face off his shoulder and Gilbert fell face first into the floor, crashing down and twitching slightly as he lay there for a moment, getting the whole classes attention.

"What a bloody idiot." Arthur mumbled with a sigh, rubbing his temple. Zoe let out another giggle, starting off the whole class in another laughing fit as Gilbert slowly pulled his body up, leaning onArthur's desk and rubbing his head.

"Ahhh...that hurt."

"What do you expect? You landed face first on the wooden floor!" Liza bashed him on the head some more, angrily attempting to drill some information into that thick scull of his.

"Ouch, ow, ok, ouch, stop! Liza, ok, I'm sorry! Ow! " She finally stopped, sighing heavily and sitting back in her seat, shaking her head as Gilbert recovered from yet another concusion.

"You really are an idiot, Gilbert."

The rest of class seemed to go by rather quickly. The usual chit chat and Gilbert getting beaten by Liza some more. Lunch was pretty much the same. let us eat inside the classroom today, just this once.

When school came to an end, we all headed down to the shoe lockers, changing our shoes and waiting for Arthur to come back from dropping off something to the office.

"You will not believe how much a difference taking your shoes off makes!" Gilbert explaimed, standing with nothing but his white socks on.

"Ew, Gilbert! "Liza held her nose with her fingers. "Put your shoes on! Your feet smell really bad!" Gilbert blushed a little, looking around to see Kiku nodding slowly.

"They smell THAT bad?" He looked almost shocked. "Well whatever! My awesome smell is just too much for you lot!" He said with pride as he put his shoes back on.

"Yeah, sure." Liza shook her head, laughing it off.

"We all ready to go?" Arthur came over, quickly changing his shoes and holding his bag up on his shoulder a little more.

"Yep, oh wait!" Liza said as she pulled out her phone. "Zoe, give me your number." With that, everyone got their phones out, remembering they had forgotten to ask. Even I pulled out my phone, a little embarressed.

As Zoe gave us her number and we took it in turns giving her our numbers, I felt my heart thump like crazy in my chest again, knowing I'd be giving her my number and that I already had hers now. I stared at her name above the number, smiling at it for a moment.

"Alright, your turn, Ivan." I looked up as she held her phone close to mine, waiting for me to give her my number. I quickly flipped through bringing my number up on the screen, letting her read it and copy it onto her phone. "Ok, done." She smiled, closing her phone and putting it away.

"Ok, can we go now?" Arthur chuckled. Everyone nodded and we finally took off, stepping out into the hot sun again. It wasn't as hot now, and was a little cooler, but it was still hot nontheless.

"That's quite a refreshing breeze" Arthur smiled, tilting his head back slightly as the wind blew his hair gently.

"Not as nice as when I get home and get out the freezypops!" Gilbert laughed, grinning his usual cocky grin.

"Yeah, well you're not the only one with a freezer, you know." Liza grinned, enjoying the cocky grin wipe off of Gilberts face. "And I have a pool in my garden"

"So what? I can just sit in a cold bath." Gilbert retorted, recieving a quite a hard pat on the back from Liza.

"Have fun in your bath tub!" Liza grinned, making sure to wind him a little.

After a while of walking and chatting, we came to a split road and Gilbert had to part ways.

"See ya later, losers!" He laughed as he ran off, waving at us a few times. Liza was about to chase after him to punch him, but was stopped by Kiku, who gently reminded her she'd see him tomorrow instead.

So we continued further down the path, all talking and enjoying ourselves.

"So how was your first day here, Zoe-san?" Kiku asked, walking beside her and focusing on her with his noncholant stare.

"It was good, I enjoyed it a lot." She replied, smiling back at Kiku, who simply nodded his head. "And..I'm glad I met you all. I feel very lucky to have been in your class and to have been taken care of by you all." She suddenly stoped and bowed, keeping her head down for a moment. I felt a small smile pull across my face, knowing she was happt to know me, to know us.

"Hey, it's nothing to thank us for." Arthur chuckled, patting her back gently, making her bring her head back up and look at us all with a smile.

"Yeah, we're happy to have you as a friend and to look out for you. Not that we've really done much." Liza laughed nervously. Zoe shook her head, smiling some more.

"No, you have. All of you in your own way." She continued. "Today, Liza was the first to volunteer to show me around, giving up your time for me. And Kiku, you helped me with some of the work today." She looked at me, smiling. "And today in the hall way, Ivan, you made that boy apologize for crashing into me. Thank you all. You've all been so sweet and helpful." She smiled at us all again.

I saw Liza look at me in disbelief for a moment while Kiku bowed to Zoe for whatever reasons, while Arthur decided to hug her and keep one arm around her shoulder. I don't know why, but I felt something boil inside me again. It wasn't anger, but...I don't really know what it was. I wasn't mad at Arthur, but I wanted to shout at him and pull him away from her. Why?

"Hey, Ivan." Liza called. "Is that what happened in the hall today?" I nodded my head slowly.

"Yes, but you don't need to worry." I reassured her, waiting for her to give a nod and turn back to Zoe, walking over and hugging her tightly. "oooh, you're so sweet!"

Both girls stood there giggling for a moment before we continued along the path, parting ways with Kiku, who headed up to the shrine to help his family do some more work around there.

"So!" Liza finally spoke, stepping ahead and twirling around, her hair following her motions as she looked back at us, walking backwards so easily. "If you HAD to pick one, who would you say is your favorite guy out of the four of them?" Liza giggled as Arthur and I kind of stared at her in slight shock.

"You can't bloody ask her that!" Arthur shouted, turning a little pink.

"Why not?" Liza gave a pout, crossing her arms.

"Because...you just can't! Especially with me and Ivan stood right here!" Arthur frantically tried to keep his composure as he gestured to me.

"Fine, I'll ask you again when you sleep at my place this Saturday." Liza winked at Zoe, who just giggled.

"I don't really have a favorite though." Zoe finally spoke up. "I mean, Kiku is the mentally balanced observer, or the silent type if you will. Gilbert is the clown, obviously. Arthur, you stroke me as the smart, independant one." Her eyes scanned over to me. "And Ivan, you're...the shy one, but is also really strong, both physically and mentally.. I can't say I know you enough to make an accurate jjudgement though." Her smile was weak, almost as if hiding some pain. Was the fact she didn't know me much making her sad? My heart raced a little. But was that really how she thought of me? Was I really the shy one? Was being strong a good thing?

"Well ,I say she hit the nail on the head with that one." Liza laughed, waving her hand through the air. So I really was like that, huh? "Alright, well, I'm sure by saturday you'll have something different to tell me." She giggled a little more, implying that Zoe would in fact have a favorite by then. I felt my chest tighten at the thought, and I didn't know why. What was this sharp pain in my chest? It left a bitter taste in my mouth and my wind pipes almost stopped for a second, making it hard to breath. All that at the thought of her liking someone else...why? Maybe Katyusha would know why my body was actinig in such strange ways, but did I really want to worry her if she didn't?

We came to another cross roads where Liza went, waving goodbye.

"Ah, just us three." Arthur yawned, stretching his arms a little.

"Hey, guys. For the Spring festivals, do girls wear...yukatas?" Zoe asked, catching both our attention.

"Uh, only if you want." Arthur chuckled, rubbing his neck nervously. "It's tradition to, and seeing as Kiku's family owns the shrine, Liza wears one every year, and Kiku wears something simular." Zoe nodded her head slowly, blushing a little.

"I see." I felt my cheeks turn pink all of a sudden as the thought of her in a yukata threw me off guard.

"Don't feel pressured to though. It's up to you what you wear. Most girls do wear them, but some don't and that's fine." I spoke up, feeling the need to step in and make her feel less embarressed. I got the feeling Arthur was trying to get her to wear one, which I could understand, I guess. Most guys like that sort of thing here, but for some reason, I wanted to protect her from insecurity and pressure. Even if I wanted to see it, I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable wearing it.

"Ah, well, this is my stop. Take care you two." Arthur said, taking off down another path as we waved off to him.

Then it was just me and her, walking silently beside each other. I felt my heart beat pounding inside my chest and my mind was swirling with things. I needed to say something.

"Hey, Ivan..." She spoke up, looking down a little. I could just see she had flushed cheeks, which made my heart beat even faster. What was going on with my heart? Was I going to have a ehart attack or something? Katyusha did always tell me drinking too much Vodka could do that...

"Da?"

"Uhm...do you think I should wear a yukata?" She kept her head down, still with flushed cheeks. I was taken back by it, of course. Why would she ask me that?

"Well, I think you'd look really nice in a yukata, but it's up to you." I said, hoping that was what she wanted me to say.

"Thanks, Ivan" She looked up at me, smiling a big smile. "Well, I've got to go this way." I felt a wave of disappointment wash over me, like I didn't want her to leave. I just wanted to walk on an endless path with her, doing nothing but talking and walking side by side.

"Goodbye, Ivan. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled and gave a little wave. I nodded my head, that's all I could do as I watched her leave, walking off down a seperate path from mine, getting further and further from me. I felt as though I'd never see her again and that I wanted to just chase after her and hold her in my arms, but I couldn't move.

"I'm home." I called as I closed the door behind me.

"Welcome home, Ivan!" Katyusha smiled, coming over to greet me as I removed my shoes and stepped up onto the wooden floor. "How was your day?"

"Da, it was fine." I said nonchalantly as I walked passed her, heading into the kitchen and grabbing a fresh glass of water, letting the cool liquid replenish me once again.

"Ivan, did something happen?" Katyusha walked up, concern all over her innocent face.

"No, it's just the heat." I replied. Surely I wasn't lying to her, right? I mean, it was the heat, surely. Katyusha stared at me for a moment before Natalia walked in, opening the fridge and taking out her pudding cup and looking through the draw for a spoon.

"Ivan..I know it's hot out, but as your big sister, I have a sixth sense to these things..." Katsuya sighed. "Just please, no that I'm here to help you through anything. I am your legal gardian after all." I felt a small smile tug at my lips and I nodded a little.

"Thank you, Katyusha." The sincere smile fell into a weak smile, hardly being held up as these feelings continued to twist and turn inside of me, lingering on the front of my mind like a virus. "But on a better note, me and my friends have a new friend. She just started our school today." I smiled a little more, but the feelings continued to weigh my smile down with hurt and dismay. Why was I feeling like this? The fact I didn't understand was what made it so painful.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I little long, but I hope that's ok. Let me know if you want them shorter or even longer~ Thank you for the story reviews and reads.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Drown this feeling.

"Well that's nice." Katyusha smiled. "What's her name?" I felt my cheeks heat up again, almost unable to bring myself to say her name. Only now did I realize I had never said her name out loud before, but why was it that I couldn't?

"Zo-"

"Where are all the spoons?" Natalia pushed passed me, looking through the draw. A small smile pulled at her lips as she pulled out a spoon.

"Ah, sorry. I moved some things around again." Katyusha laughed nervously.

"Some things?" Natalia coldly said back. "Whatever, I'm going to my room." And with that, she walked off, heading to her room.

I let out a sigh, picking up my glass of water and taking another sip, letting it wash away all the thoughts in my head.

"Anyway.." Katyusha smiled, shaking off Natalia's rude behaviour. "What did you say her name was?"

I looked at Katyusha and felt my cheeks heat up again as her name crossed my mind, on the tip of my tongue.

"Zoe.."

"That's a nice name. I hope I can meet her one day." Katyusha smiled. For some reason, I felt my heart jump. Introducing her to my big sister..why did the thought taunt me so much?

"Da." I smiled, shaking off this thumping in my chest. It was clear to me now that whatever was going on inside my body was not just because of the heat.

"Katyusha, can I ask you something?" I found the words smilling out automatically, but it was too late to take them back now. She was already looking at me with a smile, waiting for the question. I wanted to ask without making it obvious, but how?

"I'm just curious, a boy in my class asked me, but I couldn't help him out with it." I continued. "What does it mean when a person's heart beats fast in their chest and their mind is a wirlwind?"

"It means many things...it's hard to say." She giggled. I shook my head, showing how serious I was.

"Ok, but what if it always happened in the presence of a person? Even when they aren't around, they still linger on someone's mind all day and make them feel weird." I looked at Katyusha, who's small lips slowly formed a smile.

"Then they have a crush on that person."

I felt my heart skip a little. I had a crush on her? That's what it was the whole time? But I thought it was supposed to be a nice feeling, one that made you feel light and happy, not confused and scared.

"Katyusha, are you sure it's a crush and not something else?" I asked. She shook her head, chuckling a little.

"I'm sure, Ivan. But why are you so keen to know?" She looked at me, smiling at me with one eyebrow rose.

"Like I said, a boy in my class came to me and I got curious after not being able to provide him with the infomation he wanted." I smiled back, trying to make her lose all the suspision she had. She sat back, looking a little disappointed.

"Oh, alright then. Well I'm going to make dinner." She nodded, walking over to the cooker and starting it up before moving around the kitchen with swft movements. I took that as my que leave, so I headed to my room.

I let out a large sigh as I fell back into my bed, staring up at the white, boring cieling above me. I had a crush, a crush on a girl I had only just met. She was my friend, and I got to see her everyday. There was no way to escape this fleeting feeling in my chest when I saw her, but why didn't it feel as nice and fluffy as it's meant to?

Was there a dark side to this feeling that no one ever spoke of? Was it even meant to be felt? Was I somehow different? Or did everyone feel this? So many questions, but no way to answer.

My eyes narrowed on a single spot, falling heavy as I tried to keep my focus. My large scarf wrapped around my neck, covering the bottom half of my face as my head fell a little loose. So comfy, and I was so tired after today. All the new things I've felt for the first time in my life- it was all so new to me. I had finally experienced my first crush, and as uncertain and confused as I was, I was happy I finally got to experience it.

My eyes closed, sending me into a deep sleep as a small smile tugged at my lips.

"Ivan!" I heard a voice call, making me shift in my sleep. "Ivan!" The voice called out again, this time a little more aggressively. My eyes frced open in small slits, revealing a blurry, silver haired girl looking down at me with something in her hands.

"Wake up, Ivan. Some girl is on the phone for you." some girl? My eyes opening wider and the blured figure was revealed to be Natalia, holding the house phone in her hands looking quite irritated. "About time. Here." She coldly handed the phone to me.

I slowly brought the phone up to my face, slightly confused by what was going on.

"Hello?"

"Ivan, thank goodness. I tried calling you on your cell, but you didn't answer." A large sigh of reliefe called from the other end of the line. I knew that voice, and the moment I heard it, my stomach started fluttering again.

"Zoe, what brings you to call me?" I asked.

"Well, gave me some books to work on to get familiar with the work." She continued as I smiled, feeling happy at the sound of her sweet voice. "And I'm a little stuck on it."

My attention was quickly brought up as my body leaned forward a little more.

"And you would like my help?" I asked, trying to hide the eager cry in my voice.

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Da, I'm happy to help." I replied.

"Thank you so much, Ivan." I could hear her smile in her voice as she spoke. I can only imagine it now, her bowing her head and smiling as she thanks me several times. It was a sweet thing about her, and I only knew her a day. Wait, was I pointing out the things I liked about her? Could I even do that after a single day?

"It's no problem at all." I said. " I have three books you can borrow. I'll bring them in tomorrow for you."

"Thank you, that's perfect!" She replied. I felt my heart beat fast again as I thought. I didn't want this conversation to end, but what else could I say?

"So how are you?" I asked, feeling myself cringe slightly at the sudden question. What if I was bothering her?

"Oh, I'm good. And you?" She giggled, making the tension leave my body as my shoulders relaxed a little. At least I knew I wasn't bothering her.

"Da, I'm good too." I replied. Great, I had to say it like that, didn't I? It was too simple, there was no way for her to continue the conversation.

"Good to hear. And hey, I have to go now. I'll talk to you in school, ok? Bye." Her sweet voice ended with the dail tone as she hung up, leaving me to sit with the phone in my hands for a moment. I felt my heartbeat shake my whole body, pounding in my ears and throat. She had come to me for help and that felt nice. All the strange feelings, they were a little lighter than before. But for how long?

I let out a sigh, releasing the air in my lungs I didn't know I was holding and standing up, heading down into the lounge and putting the phone back it's place.

"Hello, Ivan. Dinner is going to be ready soon, so make sure to wash up, ok?" Katyusha smiled as she was serving up three plates. Natalia was leaning against the counter that stretched along the outskirts of the kitchen, seperating it from the lounge. She looked back at me, staring at me with a cold stare, almost like she was reading me.

"Da, ok, Katyusha" I responded, ignoring Natalia's stares and leaveing the room, heading up into the bathroom and washing my hands.

As I finished, my gaze met the mirror hanging above the sink, looking at my reflection that stared back. Like always, my stale eyes stared back with little emotion. My silver hair in a mess from falling alseep.

I thought about how someone could love me, to like me in any way. How could they? My hair was a boring color, I had a large nose and was a tall with a big build, which only made me look intimidating and unapproachable. How did I even become friends with the people I'm friends with now? Was I cuter back then? Either way, I felt even more lucky for having met them. I was greatful to Liza for befriending me.

But what about the girl I supposidly had a crush on? What did she think of me? I saw my cheeks flush a light pink colour as she came to mind. So this is how I looked when those feelings came over me? It looked strange, didn't it?

I found myself chuckling lightly at it. I never thought I'd see such a strange thing, but it was curious, wasn't it? How could the simple thought of someone make your cheeks turn such a colour?

"Ivan!" Katyusha's voiced called from the bottom of the stairs, signalling dinner was ready. I quickly shook my head, letting go of all those thoughts and letting my cheeks return to their normal complection and gave myself one last glance in the mirror and heading down.

"It smells good, Katyusha." I smiled, sitting down at my seat. Natalia was sat in her seat, silently looking away at something, not saying anything to me at all.

"Yeah, well I hope you guys like it." Katyusha smiled, bringing our plates over before heading back for her own and joining us. "Well, let's eat. I'm starving."

And with that, we all began eating my sister's delicious cooking. It was always so good, and it just made you forgot all the worries you had. It was also weird how food could do that, huh?

"So how was your first day at your new school, Natalia?" I asked, looking at my younger sister, who was quietly sat there, playing with her food a little.

"It was fine." She said. "I still don't get why I had to switch schools though."

"Because you were offered the position in Hetalia, which is a high class school for good students. Ivan's there too, so it's not like you're alone." Katyusha said, smiling a little.

"Yeah, but...I don't like it."

"Why?" I spoke up, getting Natalia's attention. "Is someone giving you trouble?" My tone was serious, making Natalia get all nervous and look away.

"And what are you gonna do if they were? Grrab them and make them apologies?" Natalia said coldly, making my eyes widen at the memory of today. I had gripped someone up and made them apologize to Zoe, I let my anger take over me. Did Natalia know about that?

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, feeling a tightening feeling in my stomach as I hoped she wasn't refering to that outbreak.

She went silent for a moment, staring at me with a cold glare before turning away.

"Nevermind."

Katyusha cleared her throat, changing the subject to lose the tension.

"You know the festivals coming up soon. What's everyone's plans?" Katyusha looked at us both, smiling.

"Liza and the others want me to go with them, as always." I smiled. "So I'll be with them."

"Oh, I see. Well I'll pack you and your friends a little something." Katyusha smiled. Every year she made me and my friends a little bento box to have while we watched the fireworks, and it was always so nice.

"Thank you."

"Oh, and will your new friend Zoe be there?" Hearing her name so unexpectidly sent a wave of shock down my spine, making my cheeks flush a little.

"Da, she'll be there."

"Alright, I have to remember to make one extra." Katyusha giggled. "Oh, I hope she liked my cooking."

"Who doesn't like your cooking?" I laughed.

Dinner went along pretty nicely and Natalia and I cleaned up after, an awkward silence lingering in the air.

But when that was finally over, I headed up into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I looked in the mirror again, staring until my reflection started to blur under the steam.

I removed my cloths, throwing all but my scarf in the hamper. I simply hung my scarf on the back of the door before stepping into the shower, letting the hot water soak my body. I leaned my head forward, letting it run down the back of my neck, letting all the tension in my body fade away as the hot water made contact with my muscles.

Letting out a long sigh, all the extra internal tension slipped out from my lips. The water hit the top of my head as I looked up a little, closing my eyes as it ran down my face.

These moments were always so simple to me, but now, it was like the best thing in the world. A shower was simply no longer than ten minutes, but this time, I was in here for about fifteen minutes just standing there, letting the water sooth me as all these thoughts ran through my head. It was weird, but I guess it was normal, right?

After the shower, I headed into my room and got into something comfy until I decided to go to bed. Maybe a few hours on the internet would kill some time and take my mind off it, but then again, I didn't feel like it.

The next day I took my usual route to school, shading myself from the heat that continued to beam down. It wasn't as bad as yesterday, but it was still pretty hot.

I arrived at my class and headed in, sitting in my seat and seeing Gilbert, Kiku and Arthur already here, sitting at their desks.

"Hey, Ivan." Gilbert called, scrunching up a piece of paper into a ball.

"Hello, Ivan." Arthur called, looking up from his book. Kiku nodded his head to me as I walked passed.

"Hello." I replied, smiling as I sat at my desk, placing my bookbag on my desk.

Gilbert stood up, standing beside mine and his desk and aiming the paper ball at the bin that sat at the front of class.

"You'll never get it in, you know." Arthur commented, his eyes fixed to his book.

"You underestimate my power!" Gilbert chuckled.

"No, you over estimate your confidence." Arthur said back, flipping a page in his book.

"Hmph, we'll see!" Gilbert stanced more, aiming carefully and launched the paper ball, watching it fly through the air. The paper ball bouced off the edge of the bin, falling on the floor in a heavy motion.

"I told you." Arthur grinned, still reading his book.

"Shut up! I was so close!" Gilbert's face fell into a pout as he flopped back into his seat, face down on his desk. "So close."

I couldnt help but laugh at him, he was such an idiot.

Just then, Liza and Zoe walked in through the door, chatting away with smiles on their faces. My body froze and the smile faded away as I watched Zoe walked in, a bright smile lighting up her face. My heart was beating fast again, I could feel it in my throat.

I looked down at me bookbag that still sat on my desk, hiding my blushed face under my scarf that was wrapped around my neck as always. I didn't forget the books she wanted either.

Both Liza and Zoe sat at their desk, finishing their conversation.

"And that's why I don't wear those anymore." Liza said, making Zoe giggle a little.

"Hello you two." Arthur smiled, looking up from his book.

Both girls replied, smiling as everyone started chatting again.

"Ugh, I seriously can't wait until the summer ball festival now." Liza stretched her arms. Gilbert sat up, looking at her.

"That's ages away though."

"I know, but I can't help but get excited!" She replied, clasping her hands together.

"Uhm, what is the summer ball festival?" Zoe asked, feeling a little embarressed.

"It's bascially a big festival that last a week and each school in the city takes it in turns each year to host it." Arthur spoke up, snatching my chance to speak to her.

"Yeah, but it's way lame, only the old and adults go." Gilbert added, waving his hand a little.

"Yeah, but it's an excuse to get a week off school" Liza added. "And since there's three schools in this city, it makes the week even more enjoyable"

"Oh yeah. While we're off enjoying the sun, the other two schools are still open." Gilbert laughed.

"We'll have to wait another two years after this one to enjoy it again." Kiku added. "So the fact we have to wait for it makes it better too."

"I see." Zoe nodded. "Well, it sounds good. I guess I moved her at the right time." She giggled.

"True that." Liza let out another giggle too, shaking her head a little.

Zoe turned around in her seat as everyone went quiet for a moment, getting their things out their bag. I swallowed back a lump in my throat as I worked up the courage to speak up to her and give her the books.

"Hey, Zoe.." I spoke up. She turned around in her seat to look at me, smiling gently.

"Yes, Ivan?" Her eyes were on me, and I felt my palms get sweaty and my heart beat fast again.

"I brought those books in you wanted."

"Oh, really?" Her face lit up more. "Thank you, Ivan. You're a lifesaver." She giggled, standing up and walking over to collect them.

"You're welcome." I rumaged through my bag and pulled out the three books, handing them to her. My hands were so shaky, but lucky it wasn't noticable. Her hands took hold of the books and carried them away, sitting back at her desk and putting them in her bookbag.

Just then, walked in as the bell went, putting her bag on her desk and sitting down, waiting for the rest of our class to pile in.

Class went by smootly, but every now and then I couldn't help but glance over at her and just stare. Seeing as she sits two rows in front of me, in the next row, I couldn't see her face. But it was enough to send my stomach flying every time.

A short chapter, but I hope that's enough for you~ Sorry update took a while, but it's hard fitting in the time. Chapter four will be here sooner though. Thank you for the reviews too~


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